Common pain points in your profession/job/life?

[Atramental]

Just to be forthright, I'm trying to get some ideas for an app/software that could be helpful for individuals such as yourselves.

Anyways, if you had a magic wand that could solve or at least alleviate a certain problematic area in your work/life what would that magic wand do? 

[TakingBackSunday]

Make middle management not just the worst

[Mupepe]

1. Increase the price of oil without increasing the price of consumer gas (make this priority please)
2. Give people the ability and will to use basic analysis skills before saying "this doesn't work"

[I'm a Puppy!]

if it could just get rid of everyone else that'd be great.

[Atramental]

1. Increase the price of oil without increasing the price of consumer gas (make this priority please)
2. Give people the ability and will to use basic analysis skills before saying "this doesn't work"

What industry/context is #2 in?

[Madrun Badrun]

Everyone is smarter than me, besides the idiots. 

[Mupepe]

1. Increase the price of oil without increasing the price of consumer gas (make this priority please)
2. Give people the ability and will to use basic analysis skills before saying "this doesn't work"

What industry/context is #2 in?

Any accounting or analyst position.  In my specific case, financial analysts.  Why are most analysts so terrible at analyzing when something falls outside the normal spectrum??  And accountants tend to be terrible at anything besides matching and clearing or making recurring entries.  God forbid they learn how to actually reconcile an account balance.

[Steve Contra]

Can you give us the volume discount even though we didn't order enough?

[Alcoholic Fish]

Other people.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Vendors
The Union
Engineering
IT

[Atramental]

I should also add, the more specific you can get about your pain points the better.

[CatsCatsCats]

Lower back

[Atramental]

Lower back

Inversion boots or table and a place to hang upside down from for two minutes everyday.

Once I have the money and the place for such a contraption I'll be using it as a preventive measure since I sit on my ass, hunched over a computer almost every waking hour.   

[I'm a Puppy!]

Vendors
The Union
Engineering
IT

God. This. ALL of this. Make it go away.

[Brehvolution]

IT

God. This. ALL of this. Make it go away.

Have fun calling ghostbusters when there is somethin' strange in ya neighborhood.

[I'm a Puppy!]

IT needs to exist to keep what you can't put in the cloud running. Nothing more.

[Brehvolution]

Trust other people with your data, brehs.

[I'm a Puppy!]

amazon has hundreds of people on their network security team. but nah, I'm sure your 3 guys will be smarter.

[G The Resurrected]

I have resorted to paying someone to help me find contract work. So something that automated that person out of my life entirely would be great. Honestly I've been working on a bot for this very reason. I'm sure someone will beat me to market with something similar next week.

Honestly though I just need to get out of the line of work I'm in and pivot to something more stable. I want to build on something that I can work with for many years so I can get out of the system I'm currently trapped in. I need a way to transition from where I am to where I want to be without falling on my fucking ass. Sadly there is no magic net I have to help make sure I transition properly. It's a hard place to be right now given all that's going on in my life.

[Atramental]

Did some googling and found this proof of concept.



https://hbr.org/2015/04/heres-how-managers-can-be-replaced-by-software

FUCK. I would need so much funding to get something like this done. I bet multiple tech companies are already working on it right now.

[toku]

I believe in you

[Mupepe]

amazon has hundreds of people on their network security team. but nah, I'm sure your 3 guys will be smarter.

I wish IT would realize 98% of what they do makes everyone else less efficient.  Just make sure I can connect to the fucking network and issue my laptop.  That's all I really need you for, bros.  For system issues they're the bottle neck between me and the outsourced help that actually fucks with the code.

[pilonv1]

Having to turn up

[Freyj]

Whatever it is that turns the interesting places I chose to work at into yet another corporate-y, kiss ass-y, ladder climb-y, back stab-y shithole.

The answer is people, shitty shitty people.

Also IT is bad because it's mostly full of kingdom building assholes who'd rather not get any actual valuable work done.

[Madrun Badrun]

I'd be so fucked without our IT guy. 

[Atramental]

I have resorted to paying someone to help me find contract work. So something that automated that person out of my life entirely would be great. Honestly I've been working on a bot for this very reason. I'm sure someone will beat me to market with something similar next week.

Honestly though I just need to get out of the line of work I'm in and pivot to something more stable. I want to build on something that I can work with for many years so I can get out of the system I'm currently trapped in. I need a way to transition from where I am to where I want to be without falling on my fucking ass. Sadly there is no magic net I have to help make sure I transition properly. It's a hard place to be right now given all that's going on in my life.

I think I remember you saying that you are a house painter or something to do with home improvement? Is that correct? (Maybe that was someone else.)

Also, do you know or know of several people in your profession that are in great need of this type of automated system?

The most I could do is write down a list of features this system should have and then mockup the UI/UX of this automation app.

Where it gets tricky for me is when it comes time to find/hire a developer or developers that won't end up making some clunky piece of shit that's riddled with bugs and I end up losing a large sum of money trying to bootstrap it.

Or worse, lose other people's money who invested in the project. 

[nudemacusers]

I work in gov there is no help for me 

[Atramental]

But them juicy government contracts tho.

[bluemax]

Just to be forthright, I'm trying to get some ideas for an app/software that could be helpful for individuals such as yourselves.

Anyways, if you had a magic wand that could solve or at least alleviate a certain problematic area in your work/life what would that magic wand do? 

Hire more QA, automate as much repetitive shit as possible, provide me enough time to actually write automation and test code, replace incompetent designers with people who don't go "oh yeah I hadn't thought of that" when I ask my first question.

Better coffee.

[Reb]

There's this guy showing up everywhere sabotaging me.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

It's me.

[close]

[Kara]

Poor work / life balance.

Chronic understaffing.

[Cerveza mas fina]

boredom

[Rufus]

Scheduling. But that's an impossible problem to solve. "Turn back the Earth!"

[Atramental]

Just to be forthright, I'm trying to get some ideas for an app/software that could be helpful for individuals such as yourselves.

Anyways, if you had a magic wand that could solve or at least alleviate a certain problematic area in your work/life what would that magic wand do? 

Hire more QA, automate as much repetitive shit as possible, provide me enough time to actually write automation and test code, replace incompetent designers with people who don't go "oh yeah I hadn't thought of that" when I ask my first question.

Better coffee.

Who or what do you normally use to hire QA testers? Is there an Upwork/Odesk equivalent for video game QA (I'm pretty sure there isn't but I could be wrong)? Or is it just some HR person putting job listings on a bunch of hiring sites?

And are these designers fresh out of school or... just flat out incompetent despite being in the industry for a handful of years. Would a "thought process" checklist of some sort fix this issue?

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

It would be nice if people would do what they say they would do when they say they would do it.  Maybe develop an app for when they come to my office to offer excuses, they can hear a violin playing in the background along with a marquee scrolling list of all the social media sites they were visiting in the weeks they were supposed to actually work.

[Atramental]

Or have a robot voice publicly shame people through an intercom system.

"At 9:35 AM employee ROBERT SMITH was browsing FACEBOOK for 15 MINUTES instead of working on TASK: PITCH DECK FOR MR. WHORE.

ROBERT SMITH, please report to MR. WHORE's office immediately."

Company morale would probably plummet like a rock, though.

So yeah, I could see your idea working instead. 

[Mupepe]

That should only happen when their performance review is below a certain threshold.  If you're a top performer getting your shit done then I don't care if you take 15 minutes of Facebook for whatever reason this morning.

[Huff]

Drug seekers wasting our time in the ER

just buy it off the street like the rest of your friends

[Kara]

People who bring their kids to the office. It's not our fault you suck.

[Atramental]

And pets...

I had to scrub dog piss out of a carpet the other day.

We totally deserve to be replaced by robots.

[Madrun Badrun]

Work for your self and have to clean up other people's dog's piss 

[Atramental]

I'm actually an employee now and no longer a contractor.

Sorry, only registered users can see this content. Please Login or Register.

[Madrun Badrun]

Work for other people and have to clean up other people's dog's piss 

[Atramental]

Pallando's Job Description:
-Design and facilitate brands
-Design both print and digital ads
-Design websites and apps
-Prep and meet with developers
-Meet with clients
-Do QA testing/reviews
-Clean dog piss

[Madrun Badrun]

At least you didn't dream of being an astronaut as a child.  Because dreaming of being an astronaut and then having to clean up other people's dog's piss would break anyone's spirit. 

[Samson Manhug]

I'm not looking for work now, but I could be, and a service that applies to jobs for you with resume and cover letter would be awesome.

An app that searches all the local barbers social media so you can find a barber that's doing a haircut you like.

The same app but for tattoo artists.

[Atramental]

At least you didn't dream of being an astronaut as a child.  Because dreaming of being an astronaut and then having to clean up other people's dog's piss would break anyone's spirit.

You can't break that which is already broken.

[Mupepe]

Here's my idea:

An app with push notification capability and GPS tracking.  It knows when you show up at certain bars, restaurants or clubs.  People can view activity level so that they don't go to a place that's overcrowded or a club that's dead.  Owners of the locations for a fee can send push notifications (for those that subscribe to it for that location aka regulars) that promotes deals.  So if you're dead on a certain night and willing to do a spur of the moment special to get folks in then perhaps someone sitting at home who is wondering what they should eat gets the notification and is like "shit!  olive garden is giving half off entrees right now.  peace out mothafucka"

[Phoenix Dark]

Interns.

[T234]

Summer weed droughts. 3k/lb ??!!! MADNESS, ABSOLUTE MADNESS!

[Atramental]

Hmmm... There's probably some shady way to pump up the return but fiscal manipulation & subterfuge isn't my forte.

[chronovore]

My boss is a jerk, and always shouting at me.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'm self-employed.

[close]

[bluemax]

Just to be forthright, I'm trying to get some ideas for an app/software that could be helpful for individuals such as yourselves.

Anyways, if you had a magic wand that could solve or at least alleviate a certain problematic area in your work/life what would that magic wand do? 

Hire more QA, automate as much repetitive shit as possible, provide me enough time to actually write automation and test code, replace incompetent designers with people who don't go "oh yeah I hadn't thought of that" when I ask my first question.

Better coffee.

Who or what do you normally use to hire QA testers? Is there an Upwork/Odesk equivalent for video game QA (I'm pretty sure there isn't but I could be wrong)? Or is it just some HR person putting job listings on a bunch of hiring sites?

And are these designers fresh out of school or... just flat out incompetent despite being in the industry for a handful of years. Would a "thought process" checklist of some sort fix this issue?

We don't even have HR at my current job. At other places the usual issue is that they rarely want to have people as full time and you don't get people who are good as contractors or part time in the QA field. There's also too much of a long held belief that QA is an end of project thing but now that more and more games are transitioning to live services models people are realizing you can't do this kind of shit anymore. I think that the way QA is used and the way development is done is changing, but its a slow process and there are a lot of people who don't understand the benefits or are too far removed to care.

The guy who is the "designer" on the project I am on is experienced as far as I know, but he seems really used to just coming up with concepts and not having to flesh them out into systems. The company is trying to make us spend more time workshopping "user stories" so that before we are assigned "user stories" the designer has put more info into them based on our questions/feedback. We shall see how it goes.

[I'm a Puppy!]

People expect every government program to pay for itself since so many liberals tout stuff like, "Every dollar spent on X program generates $8 in economic activity." That shit never scales. Maybe the first million generates 8 million, but a billion sure as shit won't generate 8 billion. Plus they're always using imaginary numbers like the statistical cost of a human life. So when I tell a client their program will return 25 cents on the dollar, they get mad about it.

that's not just a government thing though. Businesses fall into this trap too.
"how much time until this project pays for itself?"
"Uhhh...it's an upgrade. You're doing this so your systems are stable not so you can claim ROI."
"Well if it's not going to give me ROI I'm not going to do it!"
"Your system is 14 years old. They don't even make this software anymore. If it goes down there will be a crater and you will have to close your books with paper that's your plan."
"Not doing it unless you can prove to me I'll be able to pay this project off in savings within 9 months."

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Private business cost projections are often pure fantasy:

"This will save $5 million a year!"
...except they left out that you need a few employees to monitor and maintain the new process so there's one million gone
...except they left out legal review who says this process may put us out of compliance.  To stay in compliance you have to scale the process back so there's another couple million in projected savings gone
...they also fudged the numbers to look good to the boss.  So take out another couple million

In the end, it ends up being a wash or we lose money.  Businesses keep expecting to find hidden inefficiencies that they can bust apart, save millions, and makes them look good enough to secure a future VP position.  They don't realize that for the past 30-40 years people have mined those pockets of savings and there's nothing left, unless you want to dig into executive pay and executive perks.

[Mupepe]

Most inefficiencies are institutionalized, serve some process purpose or the benefit is unclear.  The key is streamlining existing processes that already have a proven track record, not reinventing the fucking wheel.

[VomKriege]

Or simply performing maintenance and making sure the tools and devices are up to date. I suspect those things often go because the positive outcome cannot be quantified in a single accounting cell when the cost do. If someone bothered to ask, we could tell them how we're losing a couple days of work from time to time because of it.

[I'm a Puppy!]

When someone brings me in to "streamline" a process the first question I ask always is, "If you're serious about this, it will most likely mean you have to fire some people to clear out the organizational inertia. Are you prepared to do this?"

Most times people give me a look like

And I go and talk about namby pamby stuff.

But some people, a few wonderful few are like "Great. Let's make this happen."

[brawndolicious]

My first week here (environmental testing lab) I told them without hesitation that their protocol is kinda garbage and showed them the data about how badly their results underestimate the real values. I was told that that's the correct way to do it and how they did it for the last decade. When the auditor came a couple months later and pointed out those same damn issues, I sold some good bullshit about how I'm new and didn't know that we had to include those missing variables but obviously they've been doing it right before I was there. While two layers of supervisors were standing around pretending to look shocked.

Basically fuck the jobs, bring on the robots. Also I should probably be a teacher or a businessman, dualities.

[Am_I_Anonymous]

So, yeah, vendors....

Told our primary suppliers 4 fucking months ago that on August 1st we start the Browns instant replay project and require 2.1 MILES of 24 strand single mode fiber with an armored jacket.

Get email this morning from purchasing;

Sorry AiA there's still a two week led time....

When did they order the product? Two days ago.

Just going to buy from corning direct....and also interview new potential suppliers because they are fucking fired.